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Test passed, PFaz!

Today's topic: The FTA. Over the past year, the U.S. and Australia have been involved in a series of high-level negotiations for bilateral free trade. I don't know all the specifics, but my impression is that in exchange for access to American markets for Australian farmers and agribusiness, the Australian government is prepared to make concessions that will impact its film and television industry. Namely, the weakening of protective measures, and failure to set local-content quotas. That could prove very bad for the industry, which is already dominated by global processes.

Numerous Aussie actors have spoken out against this threat to their culture and livelihood. I have to agree 100% here; if anything, given the sorry state of U.S. television, I think the trade imbalance should run in the other direction. I'd much rather watch a series like After The Deluge than Am I Hot Or Not? At least Aussie television doesn't actively try to kill your brain cells. I would also hate to see a situation where Aussie filmmakers and actors are forced to compete against one another for scarce jobs and resources. We already don't see enough of David Wenham in the U.S. as it is.

As long as I'm ranting, I'll close with a minor pet peeve of mine: Why are modern-day fiction books ALWAYS labelled as "A Novel"? For example, Snow Falling On Cedars: A Novel. Are the publishers worried we won't recognize it as such? That we might mistake it for an encyclopedia, or a set of dinner forks? It seems vaguely redundant and pretentious, a shorthand indication to the buyer that You Are In The Presence Of Literary Greatness. If I ever write a novel, I'm going to insist that it be labelled "A Bunch Of Paper Covered In Squiggles".

Is this labelling practice going to extend to other consumer areas? Cheerios: A Cereal. Sony: A Television. Etc.

-- make_it_stop: a ranting nutcase